Nancy Zavada - Designing Events That Leave an Impression, Not a Footprint

Nancy Zavada returns for part two of her Green Champions conversation, this time pulling back the curtain on the actual work behind sustainable events. As president of MeetGreen, Nancy has saved clients $7.8 million in sustainability-driven decisions and cut $2.5 million in aisle carpet alone from a single event last year. This episode is a masterclass in making the business case for doing things better.

On a cross-country flight, she ordered tea in economy and got a styrofoam cup, a plastic stir stick, and a sugar packet. On the way back, upgraded to first class, the same tea arrived in a china cup with a silver spoon and a sugar cube. That airline wasn't trying to be sustainable. They were trying to be elegant. Nancy's point is that we've somehow convinced ourselves that sustainability means sacrifice, when the most refined, considered experiences have always been the most efficient.

The practical strategies Nancy shares in this episode are the kind that stick. The Clean Plate Club, which turns food waste reduction into a community game at multi-day conferences. The stone-in-a-jar voting system that replaced conference swag with charitable giving. The carbon uncalculator MeetGreen built during COVID to show clients exactly how much emissions they avoided by going virtual. And the emerging Hub and Spoke event model that she believes is the next major shift in how organizations gather. Each idea is grounded in the same philosophy: reduce first, always. Then measure, share the data, and let the numbers do the talking.

Episode in a glance

02:08 The internal focus group: Balancing logistics with sustainability
04:54 Rebranding Green: Why first class is the ultimate sustainability model
06:46 The Clean Plate Club: Gamifying food waste at scale
14:00 The $7.8M Business Case: Saving money through intentional reduction
23:44 The Hub and Spoke: Why the future of gathering is regional

About Nancy Zavada

Nancy Zavada is the Founder and President of MeetGreen, a firm dedicated to providing sustainable event management and consulting for some of the world's most recognizable brands. With over three decades of experience, Nancy is a recognized leader in the industry, helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining high-quality attendee experiences. She is an Oregon native, a lifelong environmentalist, and a passionate mentor to the next generation of green event professionals.

Connect with Nancy Zavada and her work

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• LinkedIn → Nancy Zavada
• Company Website → MeetGreen

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